Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. by 27.9%, leaving them with 30,478 shares valued at approximately $4.8 million as of the end of the last reporting period.
• Yum! Brands reported earnings of $1.44 per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations by $0.02, with revenues of $1.93 billion, slightly below consensus estimates.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 56.02%.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 27.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,478 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 11,820 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $4,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of YUM stock opened at $143.61 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $146.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $163.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.73.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is currently 56.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $161.23.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,106 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.84, for a total value of $1,043,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at $15,108,808.12. The trade was a 6.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total transaction of $296,121.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $179,154.90. This represents a 62.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,543. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division segments. It also operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.

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